“Oh, you do. Not here, maybe, but you do.”
Jeffrey wasn’t at the bar when Diana returned. She checked the blackjack tables and didn’t see him there either. Tina and Paul were also missing, but Diana didn’t know whether they had gone for the day, or for good. She could live without finding out.
Jeffrey was in their room, and one look told the story. He lay fully dressed on top of the bedspread with his right wrist over his eyes. He was on the far side of a serious drinking session. His buzz was fading, but he didn’t know yet whether the hangover would pounce or let him slide this time.
He didn’t move, but she knew he was awake and had heard her come in.
“Nobody called me for bail.”
“No, Jeffrey. I didn’t need bail.”
“Will you?”
“Probably not. Both cases are closed. I might have to testify, unless there are pleas.”
“You should have been a lawyer. Of course, then I wouldn’t have met you.”
His tone said he was considering the pluses and minuses of never meeting her, and his conclusion was up in the air.
“I’m sorry, Jeffrey. This was all my fault.”
“Yes, it was. You should have remembered who you were working for.”
“The weekend is on me.”
“No, it’s not. You’ll get what we agreed, plus five hundred. The five hundred you couldn’t do without.”
Diana knew she would have to take the money, or there would be no more paydays from Jeffrey Pope.
It would take some time, but he would forgive her. She knew what she had to do—ten percent and ninety percent, repeat as needed. The ninety percent would start now, because she knew what was coming. She had no right to stop it.
“I love you, Diana.”
“I know, Jeffrey.”
The Retro Look Page 4